PFIPC: Police Detain Adeyemi’s Father in Fake Council Scandal
The Nigeria Police have arrested the father of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the individual central to a N1.3 billion fake presidential agency scandal. Law enforcement officers detained the elderly man during a morning raid on the family residence in Ogbomoso. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana confirmed the detention and quickly condemned the action as an unlawful substituted arrest. This controversial police tactic intensifies pressure on the presidency as a bitter institutional dispute plays out in public.
The wider scandal involves the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an entity the state insists is entirely fictitious. Federal investigators allege that Adeyemi forged official appointment letters and operated 34 separate bank accounts using the fraudulent council name. Security officials originally arrested the suspect in late 2025 at an unauthorized office within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. While currently out on bail, Adeyemi has launched aggressive public counterclaims against senior administration figures.
The legal dispute escalated dramatically when Adeyemi openly accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, of systemic corruption. Adeyemi claimed he paid massive financial inducements to secure his administrative appointment through proxy channels. Gbajabiamila has vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as malicious falsehoods designed to distract from active criminal prosecution. The presidential aide has threatened a N10 billion defamation lawsuit to protect his institutional reputation.
State actors maintain that Adeyemi is simply exploiting anti-corruption narratives to shield himself from an impending trial. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga urged the public not to weaponise the claims before the judiciary delivers its verdict. Government reports state that the police filed an eight-count charge of forgery and impersonation against the suspect last November. The administration fears that media speculation will compromise the integrity of the upcoming court proceedings.
Legal observers view the arrest of the suspect’s father as a heavy-handed manoeuvre that undermines state credibility. Constitutional experts note that domestic law strictly prohibits the detention of relatives in place of an accused person. This administrative misstep risks turning a straightforward fraud prosecution into a broader human rights controversy. The state must now manage a volatile mix of criminal litigation and public relations challenges.